Shadow and Spirit
by SpaceTart
Summary: When Link disappears mysteriously(again?!), Nabooru and Impa are sent to investigate.
1. Default Chapter

The six sages watched the festivities from a distance. Discreetly, of course, and careful not to reveal themselves to anyone. 

Saria said what they had all been thinking when she spoke up. 

" So...do we get to go home now?" 

Darunia looked up at her, then shrugged. "I don't know. Little brother beat Ganon, but I don't know if we can go home now. I miss my son, Link." 

"I miss the real Link," Saria said softly. 

There was silence for a while as all of them thought of what they had left behind: children, tribes, charges, and friends. The group turned as whole when a glimmering ball of yellow light flew towards them, landing softly on the cliff beside them. A small flash of magic and the Sage of Light was standing in its place, straightening his robes. 

"Sorry I'm late," he apologized, "but the temple needed some repairs, so I...what?" He looked at all the sad faces peering anxiously at him. "What's wrong?" 

"We were just wondering..." Impa began diplomatically, but was cut off by Nabooru. 

"...do we get to go home now?" she said eagerly, looking expectantly at Rauru. 

"Oh, ummm..." The sage fidgeted with his mustache for a while, then took a deep breath. "I"m afraid not..." He cringed as the rest of the sages began to mutter among themselves, their faces growing dark. "You can visit your homes, but you all must live in the Sacred Realm fulltime. If you do not, the door to the Realm of Darkness will open and Ganondorf will return." 

Impa turned and walked a short distance from the group, while Ruto began to stomp her feet and screech. Darunia simply sat down heavily on the ground, displacing Saria, who fell lightly beside him. She covered her face with her hands and began to cry. Nabooru stayed where she had been sitting, her face blank. 

"I'm sorry," Rauru blustered. "I thought you all realized that being awakened as a Sage meant you had to leave your old lives behind." 

"We knew," Darunia said shortly. 

"We just didn't want to believe it," Saria finished for him. She peered up at Rauru, her small triangular face streaked with tears. 

The Sheikah turned to face Rauru abruptly. "And the Princess?" 

"The Princess is a special case. She is not an elemental Sage...that is, she is not linked to anything like the water or light... It's complicated, but as the leader of the Sages, Zelda may-must-live her life outside the Sacred Realm. She is our ambassador to Hyrule and the lands outside." 

"It's not fair!" Ruto whined as the gills in her neck worked back and forth angrily. "Zelda gets to live outside the Sacred Realm, Zelda gets to see Link, Zelda gets to do everything!" 

"There's nothing we can do about it," Impa replied grimly. "Do any of you want Ganondorf to come back again?" She looked at their faces one by one. "Well, do you?" They all shook their heads. "Then we must..." she stopped and took a shaky breath, "we must live in the Sacred Realm." Nabooru sprung to her feet, fists clenched. "Who died and appointed you leader, Impa? I didn't mind listening to Zelda when we were trying to help the kid, but I'm not going to listen to you." 

"No one is asking you to listen to me, Nabooru," Impa said coolly. She crossed her arms and idly tapped one fist against the opposite arm. "I was simply stating the situation." 

"Nabooru, let's not fight," Saria pleaded. "Come on, let's just look at the fireworks." She pointed up to the black sky which was suddenly lit up by technicolor explosions of light. The glimmering, sparkling fireworks lit up the night and then drifted down to earth in crackling sparks. The sages put aside their troubles for a minute to watch the spectacle, although Nabooru took the opportunity to stick her tongue out at Impa's turned back.


	2. One Year Later

_

One Year Later

_

"Link is missing?" 

"Yes, shortly after he returned from Talmina, he disappeared." Rauru began, his eyes meeting Impa's in despair. "Impa, I brought this up to you only because I thought you were best equipped to handle it-even Zelda doesn't know yet." 

She shook her head. "I'm sure Zelda knows. She and Link have a bond that I can't even begin to understand. And as for handling it, that brave boy is the only hero this land has. I'm a little frightened myself." She held up a hand when Rauru began to bristle. "Yes, I know. The sages are here, but even you must admit that our magic is mostly defensive. And Zelda is not yet fully grown. Link is the only one who has proved he is capable of defending us-even as a child." 

"I think you underestimate the power of the sages. But this is not what I wished to speak to you about. Link's absence is being dealt with. I have sent a search party to find him. I believe he may have been sucked into another dimension...again." He harrumphed. "What I do want to discuss with you is a mysterious force that's been felt in the desert, in this time period. A caravan of Hylian gypsies was reported missing the other day, and no one knows what happened to them. I'd like you to investigate it. Since Link went missing in his original time period, we have no hero to deal with this new threat, if it is a threat." 

"So, Link went missing in his time period, that is, seven years ago to us. This new threat, the one you want me to investigate, is happening now?" 

"Exactly. I want you to go to the desert and see if anything is amiss." 

The Sheikah arched an eyebrow. "Shouldn't I be searching for Link as well?" 

"No. I need you to do this. You and...Nabooru." 

"Nabooru? Rauru, I respect her as a Sage, but you must know that our personalities do not mesh--" 

"Yeah, well, I don't like you either." The Gerudo moved into view, brushing her long red ponytail over her shoulder as she walked towards the other Sages. "But I know the deserts, and I can't go by myself-as much as I might want to-so we have to team up." 

Impa ground her teeth together and looked at Rauru questioningly. 

"She's right, Impa. She has the knowldege of the deserts and you have the strategic intelligence and diplomacy that this job requires. She also has connections with the Gerudos. If this mysterious force has anything to do with them, we'll need her inside knowledge." He cleared his throat again. "I realise that you two are not the best of friends but I know that you are both mature enough to rise above this...for Link's sake." 

*****

There was a soft knock on Impa's door and she looked up to see Nabooru standing there, wearing a light tunic embroidered heavily with gold thread. 

"Hey." 

"Hello, Nabooru," the Sheika said briefly, then went back to polishing her sword. 

"Whatcha doing?" 

"Polishing my sword." 

The Gerudo rolled her eyes. "I can see that. What I meant was, are you almost ready to go? Rauru wants us to head out in the morning. On foot, cause there's a threat that our magic might be detected if we transport directly there. " 

"On foot?" Impa sighed and put her sword down, her mind reeling with the implications of hours on the road with the quarrelsome redhead. 

"Well, I'm not exactly thrilled either." Nabooru came the rest of the way into Impa's room, plopping herself down on Impa's cot with a slight thump. "But if there's a chance that this magic in the desert is hostile, it'd be foolish..." 

"I know," Impa cut her off. "I just...it's been a while since I traveled long distances on foot. Not since my sojourn to the Shadow Temple, and that was a disaster." She reflected on that missing period in her life, when she'd been kept in stasis, not knowing if she'd ever be freed. 

Nabooru grinned. "Hopefully, it won't turn out like that... Anyway, I'm ready. So if you just wanna meet at the front door or something in the morning, we can hurry off. It might be easier if the other Sages didn't know we were leaving." 

Impa nodded. "Saria would take it badly." The Shiekah had oddly protective feelings towards the childlike Sage. 

"Sar' takes goodbyes badly." 

"It's understandable." 

"Anyway..." Nabooru pushed herself up off of the bed, ponytail swinging wildly. "Tomorrow morning, early?" 

"How early?" 

"How early can you take? I'm used to rising with sun, but I know you soft palace types..." 

"With the sun is fine." 

"With the sun it is, then. I'll be waiting." 

Nabooru slammed the door behind her, and Impa returned to her sword polishing with a new zeal. 

*****

The sun was just rising as Impa opened the heavy front doors of the Temple of Light. She tried to open them silently, but the door creaked as always. There was a loose hinge somewhere, but no one really wanted to look for the problem. Rauru was forever complaining about how he was repairing the Temple by himself with no help from the others, but Impa could see no discernible changes. 

"Good morning!" Impa was dragged out her pointless wonderings by Nabooru's cheerful voice. The redhead was leaning against one of the front columns of the Temple, watching the sun rise. She had changed into sturdier shoes. A silk bag rested by her feet. 

Impa shifted her own leather satchel, slinging it across her shoulder. "The day's greeting to you too. I'm here...with the sun," she added pointedly. 

"Well, I'm impressed." Nabooru reached down and picked up her bag. 

"Rauru has informed me that we can use our magic to travel to the edge of the Sacred Realm and to cross the boundaries. We shouldn't be detected here." 

"Impa, Nabooru?" The two Sages turned around swiftly as a voice spoke up, seemingly out of nowhere. Saria was standing in the shadows of the porch, staring at them with wide eyes. 

"Saria. What are you doing up so early?" 

"I...Jeru, my fairy, he overheard you talking with Rauru. I-Is Link really missing? And are you two leaving?" A tear ran down her face. 

Impa knelt down so she was eye-level with the small Sage of Forest. She tried to keep her voice non-condescending. Saria might appear to be a child, but in reality, she was mature for her race. "Yes, Link is missing, Saria. We're going to go..." She decided it would be best if she told a little white lie. "Nabooru and I are going to search for him." 

"In Hyrule?" Jeru landed on Saria's shoulder. "Are you going to go to the forest?" 

"No, Sar'." Nabooru shook her head. "In the desert." 

"Oh." Jeru's light flickered and Impa idly wondered if the fairy was comforting Saria. 

"We'll be back soon." Impa promised. Saria nodded solemnly and then flung herself forward, enveloping the larger woman in a tight embrace. 

"Promise?" 

"I promise." Impa straightened herself up and turned towards Nabooru, who nodded and dematerialized in a glimmer of orange light that soared off into the distance. After a final wave at Saria, Impa dematerialized as well, willing herself to the boundaries of the Sacred Realm. 

******

"Nabooru?" Impa's voice echoed off the high ceiling of the Temple of Time. There was no answer and the little Gerudo was nowhere in sight. Typical. Impa glanced at the altar and the empty grooves where the Sacred Stones were supposed to rest. //Now I know why the Goddesses didn't entrust a gemstone to the Gerudo. They're too unreliable.// 

Squaring her shoulders, Impa walked out of the Temple. A row of Gossip Stones started blathering at her in high-pitched voices. 

"Quiet now, you," she replied in the Sheikah tongue. "I know it's been a while since anyone who spoke your language came around, but I can't hear you if you speak all at once." 

"Oh! Oh!" one Gossip Stone piped up. "There was a little boy with a Mask of Truth, but he couldn't talk back to us, no, no. And he kept hitting us!" 

"All he had to do was ask nicely!" another one squealed indignantly. 

Impa tapped her fist against her crossed arms. "Have you seen a Gerudo come by here recently?" 

The Gossip stones trembled in excitement. "Ooooh, yes! One came by here five minutes ago! She must have been looking for a boyfriend." All the stones giggled childishly. 

"A boyfriend?" 

"Yep! All the Gerudos come to Hyrule Castle Market looking for boyfriends." 

Impa arched an eyebrow as she thought about the type of people she'd seen in Hyrule Castle Town. "Thank you for your help." 

"A pleasure. Come back and we'll have lots of new gossip! Did you hear that Richard had puppies? 'He' was a she all along. His owner was furious..." 

The stones' high-pitched voices faded out as Impa headed towards the main square of the town, where the market was. The loud catcalls of vendors filled her ears along with a steady stream of chatter, which she realised after a moment, was all about her. 

'I told you there was a Sheikah in Hyrule Castle.' 

'You're always right, darling. I love you sooo much.' 

'That's so funny! Oh, look, a Sheikah!' 

"Must be Zelda's bodyguard.' 

'Sell me something....please, Miss Sheikah.' 

Impa quickly climbed a flight of stairs that led to the balcony of one of the houses overlooking the market. An intelligent looking man was standing near the edge. "Excuse me. Have you seen a Gerudo come this way?" 

The young man stared at Impa, then pushed his shaggy brown hair out of his eyes. "A Gerudo? Yeah, she went into the weapons shop. Why, did she steal something from you?" 

"No. Thank you." Impa raced down the stairs and headed towards the weapons shop on the other side of the town square. 

*****

"Are you kidding me? Forty rupees for a bag of Deku Nuts?" I might as well find a Business Scrub. At least I could beat him up a little bit before he ripped me off." Nabooru glared at the stocky clerk as Impa opened the door and slid into the room unnoticed. 

"All right, how about thirty rupees?" The clerk offered. 

Nabooru laughed derisively. "I knew you looked like a Goron, I didn't know you had the brain of one as well. Twenty, and that's my final offer." 

The big man grumbled, but nodded. "All right, twenty rupees. But you're really getting away with murder here." 

Nabooru rolled her eyes as she reached into her bag for the money. She slid it across the counter and the clerk handed her the bag. She turned around, jumping back startled when she saw Impa. 

"When did you get here?" 

Impa looked the Gerudo over coolly, narrowing her eyes. "About five minutes ago. I had assumed that you would be waiting for me." 

"I had to get supplies," Nabooru replied, shrugging, as she pushed her way out of the dark shop. 

"You might have waited for me." 

"You found me well enough." Nabooru shoved the Deku nuts into her bag. "Where should we go now?" 

Impa considered the question for a while. "It might be a good idea to go see Princess Zelda. She has a bond with Link...." 

"Wait," Nabooru cut her off. "I thought Darunia and Rauru were looking for Link." 

"As I was saying, she has a bond with Link and a connection to Hyrule itself. She might be able to give us some information. I suspect that Link's disappearance and this most recent disturbance might have some sort of connection." 

Nabooru shrugged. "So I guess we should go see her highness." 

"We'll have to sneak in unnoticed." She said as she began the walk towards the castle. "There's no telling what this mysterious force Rauru was talking about might be, we don't want to alert it to our presence more than we have to. A royal welcome would be a bit of a spectacle." 

*****

"Zelda's courtyard is just beyond this last statue. She's usually there." Impa peered around the edge of the bush at the soldier who was patrolling ahead of them. "We should be able to run for it in a few seconds." 

"Impa, I'm a trained thief. I know when to run. Now!" She took off, her lightly shod feet making no noise as she ran across the grassy path, behind the back of the soldier. She could hear Impa behind her, her footfalls only slightly louder. 

As they rounded the corner into the small octogonal courtyard, Zelda looked up. "Nabooru! Impa!" She stood, walking over to them. "What are you doing here?" 

"I might asked you the same thing, my lady," Impa teased gently. "Shouldn't you be on your throne?" 

Zelda blushed. "Sometimes I like to come out here and forget..." 

Impa nodded, quickly growing serious again. "Your highness, I'm afraid I bring bad news. Rauru has sent me here because Link has disappeared. He dropped out of sight seven years ago, a little after you restored him to his youth." 

"Yes, to Termina, everyone knows that..." 

"My lady...," Impa paused. "He has disappeared again. A short while after he returned from Termina-no more than two months." 

"I-I knew something must have happened to him. After he returned from Termina it seemed like he was going to stay for good. He visited me often. He was supposed to visit me last week, but..." 

Nabooru narrowed her eyes. "If he disappeared almost seven years ago, how'd he ever promise to visit you in the first place?" 

Zelda raised her eyebrows. "I met with Link only five weeks ago. I believe that this is possible because he had not yet disappeared in that timeline. Now that he has gone missing seven years ago, he no longer appears in the present." 

The Gerudo shook her head. "Remind me never to get involved in time travel." 

"Impa," Zelda continued, ignoring Nabooru's mumbling. "You said that you weren't looking for Link, so why are you here? Oh...is this about the imbalance I've been feeling lately in Hyrule? There's a large evil that seems to be centered in the desert." 

Impa nodded. "Our mission is to find out what that evil might be. I knew you would have felt it as well, my lady. Have you heard of the gypsies' disappearance?" Zelda shook her head, her expression troubled. "A caravan that was passing through the desert vanished mysteriously a few days ago." 

"I'm afraid, Impa." Zelda turned away from the other two women, looking through the window into the throneroom where her father had once presided. "I've been having those dreams again." She wrung her hands. "You and I are riding a horse, just like that night when Ganondorf...when he killed my father. I look back and Link's there, just like he was, but he slowly fades away until I can only see his fairy." 

"Navi," Impa said quietly. 

"Yes. I see Navi, and then her light turns black and gets larger. I hear Ganondorf laughing..." she broke off. 

Impa moved nearer to the young queen and gently placed a hand on her shoulder. "It's all right, your highness. He's gone." 

Zelda embraced Impa, resting her head on her shoulder. "I'm not so sure, Impa. I have this horrible feeling that he's come back. I think he might be the evil in the desert and he's just waiting to make his move." 

"I think you're right." Impa stroked Zelda's hair soothingly as she spoke. 

"So we head him off before he can do anything," Nabooru said. The other women stared at her, slightly startled at her sudden outburst. 

"It's not that simple..." Zelda started. 

"Yes, it is. Ganondorf is evil and he's obviously powerful enough to return from the realm we sealed him into, but he can't be that powerful or..." 

"Or he would have attacked us by now," the queen said, moving away from Impa. 

Impa nodded, agreeing as well. "If it is him, he must be waiting for something. We need to find out what." 

"Why?" Nabooru asked. "If he's waiting, we have the perfect opportunity to go in there and kill him before whatever he's waiting for happens." 

"But, Nabooru, we need to find out what he's waiting for. We may be able to prevent it and send him back to his prison without bloodshed." 

"Why shouldn't we kill him?" She glared at the Sheikah. "You're a warrior, why won't you act like one? " 

"If we have to kill him, I will kill him, let me assure you. If we have to fight, I will fight. But I remember the Great War, Nabooru, and I will not fight if there is any other way." 

Nabooru sighed. "All right, we're not butchers like he is. Back to prison with him it is. But," she said darkly, "if it is necessary..." 

"If it is necessary, death," Impa finished quietly. 

"Exactly." 

Zelda cleared her throat as she peered at the other two women curiously. "I...I believe that Ganondorf has found some way to return. But, fortunately," she smiled," we have you two to deal with him. Wherever Link is..." Her face drooped at the mention of Link, but she recovered. "Wherever he is, I know he could not desire two better heroes than you." Impa nodded. "Where are you two going from here?" 

"To the Gerudo fortress, my lady, and then onto the desert." 

"I see." She looked up at the sky. "The sun is near setting. If you wish, you may stay in the castle tonight." 

Nabooru started to consent, but Impa cut her off. "Thank you, my lady, but I fear that Ganondorf may have spies in the castle. It would be better if we pretended we were only ordinary travelers. We'll stay at the inn in the town." 

"As you wish." She turned away from them to return to the throne room, but then stopped. "Good luck to you, fellow Sages. Shadow and Spirit...may they serve you well." 


	3. The Quest Continues





	4. Kokiri Village and the Lost woods

"I do." A strong hand took the ocarina from Fado and all four females looked up at the new arrival.   
  
"Impa!"   
  
"A Sheikah!" The three Kokiri squealed. "Could you talk to our Gossip Stone?"   
  
"In a minute. Let me talk to Nabooru for a moment, would you?" The three little elves jumped up and skipped off.   
  
"Where have you been?! You're six hours late!"   
  
Impa sat down next to her. "Before you awoke, one of the villagers came to tell me that a ghost had risen from its grave and was haunting the cemetery. I had to persuade it back into its tomb again."   
  
"It took you six hours?"   
  
"It was a very...persistent ghost." She sighed. "I apologize, but it was unavoidable."   
  
"Fine. Let's find this boy and get out of here then." Standing up quickly, Nabooru rearranged her swords on her back.   
  
"All right." Impa rose as well and motioned towards a tunnel leading out of the village. "Is that the way to the forest?"   
  
Nabooru shrugged. "Don't ask me, I couldn't get the short people to tell me anything." She turned her back on Impa and looked down over the town. "There doesn't seem to be any other way to go except the way we came in. So that must be it."   
  
"Nabooru, I did apologize."   
  
Nabooru's reply was cut off by the three Kokiri girls. They surrounded the pair, squealing and laughing and skipping.   
  
"Would you talk to our Gossip Stone NOW, Miss Sheikah?"   
  
"Please?"   
  
"C'mon!"  
  
"PLEASE?" They chorused.   
  
"All right, all right." She looked down at them and smiled. "Where is it?" Two of the Kokiri grabbed her hands and the other bounced along ahead of them as they began pulling her towards the Gossip Stone.   
  
"Here it is!"   
  
"What does it say?"   
  
Nabooru walked up behind them, frowning. "Can we hurry this up?"   
  
Impa kneeled and greeted the stone in Sheikah. "Excuse me..."   
  
The stone vibrated slightly and then it made a sound which sounded suspciciously like a yawn. "Sleepy...go away." There was a pause, and then it vibrated again, more strongly this time. "Wait!" it squealed. "You speak Sheikah? You are a Sheikah!"   
  
"Yes, yes, I am. The girls here wanted me to talk to you."   
  
"Oh..." the little stone sounded like it was pouting. "I should have known you didn't want to talk to me, really."   
  
"But I do...do you have any good gossip?"   
  
"Hmmmph....maybe. OOoohhh, did you know that Mido has a crush on Tila? He *used* to like Saria, but then she left and so he started to like Tila...but I don't think Tila likes him, I think she likes Reti....and...."   
  
Impa stood up, shaking her head. 'Mido has a crush on someone named Tila. That's all it had to say."   
  
One of the little girls began jumping up and down. The other two were silent for a minute, then started chattering excitedly in high pitched voices. Impa motioned to Nabooru over their heads and the pair began jogging towards the tunnel.   
  
******  
  
Nabooru sat down on a stump with a sigh. "I hate this place."   
  
Impa sat down on the ground next to her with an answering sigh. "I must admit it is very frustrating." She looked at her hands. "We start down one tunnel, and things grow dark and suddenly we're at the entrance to the woods again. It doesn't make any sense."   
  
"It is called the _Lost_ Woods, you know."   
  
"I am aware of the name." Impa set down her pack and took the ocarina out of it. She traced the delicately carved instrument with a fingertip. "I wish we could talk to Saria. She'd know the way." She put it away abruptly. "No.. They'd trace the magic."   
  
"Who's they? Do you even know what we're doing?"   
  
Impa looked at Nabooru. "What are you talking about?"   
  
"This mission...do you know what we're doing? We go off on side quests and no one knows what's going on and we're never going to get back home!" She grabbed Impa's shoulders and shook her hard.   
  
"Nabooru!" Impa pushed the other Sage away from her. "Get ahold of yourself."  
  
"Don't tell me what to do. You don't have any authority over me. I didn't join the Sages to be bossed around by some snobby Sheikah who thinks she knows everything."   
  
"I don't think I know everything. For one thing, I don't know why you're acting like this..." She abruptly stopped and her eyes widened. "Oh....Nabooru, it's just the Lost Woods getting to you. You're not really feeling these things."   
  
"Don't you dare tell me what I'm feeling and not feeling!" The Gerudo walked Impa into a corner and grabbed her upper arms threateningly again. "I'm not going to listen to you anymore."   
  
"Nabooru!" She said warningly. "Let me go."   
  
"No! We're going back to the Sacred..." Nabooru's body slumped to the ground as Impa swiftly punched her in the face, knocking her out.  
  
****  
  
"How are you feeling?"   
  
Nabooru sat up gingerly, one hand pressed to her cheek. "No, I feel awful. What happened?"   
  
"I knocked you out." Impa handed the other woman a cup filled with healing potion. "Here, drink this, it'll make you feel better."   
  
"What do you mean you knocked me out?" She glared suspiciously at the cup, then drained it. "Why would you knock me out?"   
  
"You were threatening me."   
  
"I don't remember threatening you." She handed the empty cup to Impa.  
  
Impa put the cup back into her pack. "I didn't think you would. The Lost Woods can have a maddening effect on some people."   
  
"But...but I thought the witch said we would be immune to that."   
  
"She said we wouldn't turn into Skull Kids, nothing else."   
  
The other woman mumbled something under her breath about not trusting witches. "Where are we?"   
  
"We're in the Sacred Meadow of the Lost Woods. After I knocked you out, I carried you through one of the tunnels...it happened to finally be the right one."   
  
"Figures...and could you stop talking about knocking me out?" 


	5. Trouble in the Forest Temple

Impa sighed. "Well, it is not as if I wanted to, but it was neccesary. I apologize."   
  
"I guess I can forgive you." Nabooru rose to her feet. "Where do we go from here?'  
  
"I'm not sure. I was afraid to enter any of the tunnels for fear it would take us back to the entrance. The Forest Temple is only a short distance from here. I thought that because of its great power it might call magical beings to it." Her gaze darkened. "Also, Ganondorf placed a phantom of himself there, and the magical residue would draw a Stalkid as well.   
  
"Sounds like we should head for the Forest Temple."   
  
"It's just beyond this maze."   
  
"Great, a maze."  
  
Impa smiled. "It is not really worthy of being called a maze. When the legendary race still walked this land, it was a garden."   
  
"There's a legend among the Gerudo that the legendary race..." Nabooru abruptly stopped speaking, then pulled on her pack. "Let's get going."   
  
Impa raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "Yes, we have wasted enough time already."   
  
*****  
  
Nabooru looked up into the darkend gloom of the Forest Temple, her face blank. She looked back at Impa, and said," I can't even see the ceiling. The legendary race must have been immense." She turned around in a circle, taking in the whole room. "I don't think they were all that great at design, though. Too many stairs."   
  
"You disapprove of stairs?"   
  
The Gerudo harrumphed. "You expecting someone?" She indicated Impa's sword belt, which was slung low over her hips.   
  
"Some malevolence might still dwell here." She motioned towards Nabooru's bag. "You might want to arm yourself as well."   
  
"I will if I have to."   
  
"Quite a change from earlier."   
  
"Earlier?" Nabooru looked at Impa questioningly. "Earlier when?"  
  
"With her highness."   
  
"Oh, with Zelda?"   
  
"Her highness," Impa emphasized.   
  
"Oh, do forgive me. Her *highness*."   
  
The Sheikah closed her eyes and sighed. "Yes. Earlier you seemed quite ready to do violence whether or not the situation demanded it."   
  
Nabooru answered her sigh with one of her one. "I should have known you'd bring that up. Just because you have grown soft during peace doesn't mean that I have."   
  
"I am not soft."   
  
"You're soft. When you refuse to kill the greatest enemy we've ever known because we might need to know what he's waiting for, I don't know what else to call it."  
  
"We don't even know if it is Ganondorf."  
  
Nabooru threw her hands up and walked out into the center of the room. "Impa, it's obviously Ganondorf. Zelda thinks so, Rauru thinks so, I think so...anyone who heard of the situation would know that it was him!"   
  
Impa followed her. "Do you not see that assuming it's Ganondorf might blind us to another, possibly more lethal enemy? It could be someone from another dimension or a previously unknown force."   
  
"It could be a deranged Deku Shrub! Or a rogue Goron! The possibilities are endless!"   
  
Impa narrowed her eyes. "Being ridiculous will not help matters."   
  
"Neither will being blind, Impa. Ganondorf is *the* enemy of Hyrule. There is no one beyond him or a greater danger than him."   
  
"Do not accuse me of being blind!" Impa yelled, her voice echoing in the cavernous room. "I know that Ganondorf is dangerous. I was there when he invaded the castle! I saw him kill the king. I saved the princess while you were running around the desert thieving."   
  
"Don't ever speak of me in that way. You know nothing of me or my people. To the Gerudo, thieving is an honorable profession."   
  
"I must have forgotten that the Gerudo value stealing. I will endeavor not to forget that you are all *honorable* thieves in the future."   
  
Nabooru moved towards Impa, her jaw clenched. At that moment, a loud boom sounded through the castle. The argument forgotten, Nabooru staggered back. "What in Din's name was that?"   
  
Impa shook her head, her whole body tense. "I don't know." With a great creaking of gears, the floor fell out from under them. Both women were thrown to the ground as the elevator descended at a breakneck pace to the basement. It landed with a thud and the eerie silence was restored.   
  
"Where are we?" Nabooru got to her feet shakily, one hand reaching into her bag of Deku Nuts. "This wasn't here before," she added lamely.   
  
"There must be a hidden level to this temple." She paused, then spoke hesitantly. "Nabooru, what I said before..."   
  
"Was insulting and wrong and you'll need to apologize a lot later, but forget about it right now." She jumped off the platform and began sizing up their new surroundings. "Looks like a dead end."   
  
Impa jumped down as well and gave the room a visual sweep before she nodded agreement. "I hope we're not trapped." She began testing th walls of the round room, checking for hidden passageways. Nabooru joined her.   
  
"This outcropping...it moves." She motioned the Sheikah over with a wave of her hand. "Help me to move it." Both women pushed against the wall until it shifted with a groan and clicked into place a few feet away. A previously unrevealed alcove appeared with a barred and chained door. Impa groaned in frustration, but Nabooru merely produced a hairpin from her bag and quickly picked the lock.   
  
Impa smiled ruefully. "Already my statements are proved wrong."   
  
Nabooru smiled back nastily. "You see?"   
  
"Don't say it."   
  
"Say what?"   
  
"I told you so."   
  
The Gerudo stuck her tongue out at Impa. "I can if I want to. I *told* you so!"   
  
*****  
  
"I don't like this."   
  
Nabooru rolled her eyes. "The empty paintings or the scary, twisted room?"   
  
She shook her head. "The complete and utter stillness."   
  
"Oh, well there's that too. I would have gone with the twisted room, though. That's definitely scaring me the most."   
  
Impa glared at her. "Could you be serious for a moment?" 


	6. Confrontation with the remains

Impa glared at her. "Could you be serious for a moment? There's something here. Something evil..." She ran her hand along the velvet rope that surrounded the raised platform, then looked up at the paintings that ringed the room, portraying a lonely road leading to a dark house. "There's someone here, and he's hiding."   
  
"Hiding?" Nabooru scoffed, stepping into the area roped off by the velvet rope. "There's nowhere to hide..." She trailed off as gleaming golden posts topped by sharp barbs slid up, blocking her off from the other Sage. "Impa!"   
  
"Behind you!" Impa screamed.   
  
Nabooru whirled around, then threw herself to the side to avoid the ball of energy that exploded from one of the pictures. An unarmed Stalfos danced maliciously on the very edge of the frame, grinning down at them.   
  
"Shouldn't have come," he sing-songed. "Shouldn't have come."   
  
"Ichiro! We've come to rescue you." Impa fumbled in her bag for the powder the old woman had given her, while Nabooru moved around the perimeter, testing the rope, which shocked her when she tried to vault it.   
  
"I can't get out," she hissed.   
  
"Rescue me?" he said quizzically. "From what? Big magic here in the pictures?"   
  
"Magic?" Hadn't Link fought and defeated the Phantom Ganondorf here? It should be completely free of magic. "Your grandmother and father are very worried about you."   
  
For a moment, his features blurred, turning more human. "Nana's worried?" He skittered forward, dropping from the frame onto the floor below. Nabooru saw her chance and grabbed his bony ankle. He shrieked and writhed in her grip, his features blurring again, but this time, what emerged was something neither of them expected. Red hair and green skin swirled in and out of focus, covered with a black haze. He spoke in a thunderous voice, "Unhand me, woman!"   
  
"Ganondorf?!" Nabooru let go abruptly and backed away, her face twisted in fear. "Impa, help!"   
  
Impa swore under her breath as she finally grabbed the bag of powder. She threw it at the Stalfos, and Nabooru, guessing her intentions, threw a Deku Nut at the bag as it arced toward him. It exploded in a flash of light, sending a fine rain of powder down onto him. His skin sizzled and he howled as it burned away until there was only a slender, naked Hylian boy laying shivering on the ground. The gate slid back down and Impa rushed to his side, pulling her cloak from her bag and covering him with it.   
  
"What the hell was that?"   
  
"I don't know," she replied. "I don't know." 


End file.
